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FS This Is The UN 2013
FS This Is The UN 2013
The Secretariat
The Secretariat is made up of United Nations and administering the
an international staff working at UN programmes and policies laid down by
Headquarters in New York, as well as them.
UN offices in Geneva, Vienna, Nairobi The Secretariat is headed by
and other locations. It consists of the Secretary-General, who is
departments and appointed by the
offices with a total General Assembly
staff of 16,000 on the
drawn from most recommendation of
Member States. the Security Council
They carry out the for a 5-year term
day-to-day work of and is responsible
the Organization. for implementing
Their duties are as decisions taken by
varied as the various organs of
problems dealt with the United Nations.
by the United As the chief
Nations. These range administrative
from administering officer of the
peacekeeping Organization, the
operations, Secretary-General
mediating interna- directs the work of
tional disputes, staff known as
surveying social and “international civil
economic trends, servants”.
laying the ground Unlike
work for diplomats, who
international represent a
agreements to organizing international particular country and its interests,
conferences. international civil servants work for all
The Secretariat is responsible 193 Member States and take their
for servicing the other organs of the orders not from governments, but
from the Secretary-General. They are humanitarian or other problems of
independent from political and other special importance.
forms of interference and place the There have been eight
interests of the Organization above Secretaries-General since the founding
their own. of the UN: Trygve Lie (Norway), 1946-
The Secretary-General may 1952; Dag Hammarskjöld (Sweden),
bring to the attention of the Security 1953-1961; U Thant (Burma, now
Council any matter which, in his Myanmar), 1961-1971; Kurt Waldheim
opinion, may threaten international (Austria), 1972-1981; Javier Pérez de
peace and security. He can use his Cuéllar (Peru), 1982-1991; Boutros
“good offices” to prevent conflicts or Boutros-Ghali (Egypt), 1992-1996;
promote peaceful settlements of Kofi Annan (Ghana), 1997-2006; and
disputes between countries. The Ban Ki-moon (Republic of Korea),
Secretary-General may also act on his 2007-present.
own initiative to deal with